ADS specializes in using Ruby on Rails to build advanced, scalable, database-backed web sites for organizations of all sizes. Find out more at our website.

We are in the process of creating a video post to help us find an experienced Ruby on Rails developer or two to join the ADS team. In an earlier post (answered by our intern Matt), we mentioned that the candidate needed to have a car to get to my house. That was not a misprint. Currently, most of our core team works out of my house a few days a week. So, why not spread out and have an office? My response is, why?

I hate to commute. During my last full-time job I spent many an hour in my car wondering why I couldn’t use available technology to work from home. It is incredible the level of communication that one can achieve using a scanner, the phone, IM, email, Skype, online project management tools (we use BaseCamp and Unfuddle), and team calendars. We are also in the process of creating a corporate wiki and Intranet to capture and manage all of the files and knowledge that our growing team is producing. Leverage these technologies wisely and reap the benefits.

Another reason for not needing an office is that our clients do not come and visit us, we go and see them. It gets us out, and we get to see new places. We work with clients throughout the US and internationally, and thanks to the Internet and a generous helping of communication, projects go very smoothly.

Yet one more reason for not needing an office is that personally, I would rather work in the comfort of my home, in a comfortable and familiar space that I created, not feel pressured into working a schedule that is not of my own making, be able to spend more time with my wife (and soon a little one), take a break outside with my dogs, and not have to drive to work on a daily basis. In addition to that, I do not want anyone lording over me, and I don’t want to have to lord over anyone working with me. Everyone on the ADS team is empowered to work a schedule suitable to them (within reason - no sleeping until noon) as long as the work is done on time (or Rob is not a happy nor a nice person). Everyone knows what is expected of them, and is smart enough to be able to manage their own day. Micromanagement is not my forte, nor it is part of my job description. We trust that our people know what they are doing, and we get out of their way and let them do it. The results have been marvelous.

Now, I can just hear the cries of those wondering how a team can be cohesive if not locked into a space together. First, reread the two previous paragraphs. We do get together on a regular basis, either at my house for conference calls with a client (when Skype won’t work), or at lunch. When we get together in these environs meetings are a lot more fun, and the ideas flow freely.

So, for us, empowerment, trust, communicating expectations to the team, heavy use of communication technologies, and lunch keep our team going, and growing. See you soon, on YouTube.

- Robert Dempsey

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